Tobi (film)
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| Tobi | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Antonio Mercero |
| Written by |
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| Produced by | Antonio Martin |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Manuel Rojas |
| Edited by | Javier Moran |
| Distributed by | C.B. Films S.A. |
Release date |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | Spain |
| Language | Spanish |
Tobi (or Tobi el niño con alas) is a 1978 Spanish dramedy film written by Horacio Varcarcel and Antonio Mercero and directed by Antonio Mercero. Starring Lolo Garcia, Francisco Vidal, Norma Aleandro, Antonio Ferrandis, and Walter Vidarte. The film is about a little boy who grows a pair of wings on his back, giving him the appearance of an angel. The boy draws the attention of his community including doctors, scientists and schoolmates. The wings are surgically removed but eventually they grow back.
Plot summary
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The movie begins with Tobi and his parents, Jacinto and María López, at a picnic. Back home, Tobi starts to feel a strange itch on his back, and he is subsequently taken to the hospital for further evaluation. The next day, the doctor escorts Tobi's parents to the hospital to see him, where they learn that a pair of wings grew out of the two itchy spots on Tobi's back. At this point the hospital does not let Tobi and his parents interact, but his parents are able to see him through a one way window with Tobi not being aware that he is being watched. Tobi’s parents are taken to the doctor's office to discuss the rare condition, where the doctors can't explain why Tobi grew a pair of wings. Jacinto becomes concerned about his son’s future and what he will face in society, so he asks the doctors to surgically remove the wings. After arguing with the professor and doctor, María grows upset, expressing that she wants her son back with or without his wings, because she loves him either way. Eventually, the parents go home without Tobi.
At the hospital Tobi asked Lucy, his nurse, for his parents, and the nurse tells him that he will see his parents soon. Tobi, disappointed with the answer, complains that she always gives him that answer but it never happens; wanting to see his parents again, Tobi escapes from the clinic naked, with his wings still attached to his back. Lucy returns to Tobi’s room and finds him gone. Tobi hides in a garbage pail and two workers unknowingly transport him into a pickup van where even though they hear noises, they don’t believe there is anyone in the back. Tobi escapes from the van by hiding inside a box that is taken to a store where he is still naked, and manages to blend with the other naked mannequins. An employee entered the room where Tobi and the other mannequins are, and hears Tobi sneeze, but the boy stays still in order to not be discovered. Tobi enjoyed the situation and started to play pranks on the employee at the store, kicking him in the back and replacing himself with the mannequin. The employee then started to look at all the naked mannequins only to discover that the only one with a penis is Tobi. The employee then suffers a panic attack and runs away. Tobi then also runs away from the store and heads through the city to get back to his parents' house. While on his journey and unseen by other people, he plays with a water fountain. Tobi then gets tired and frustrated because he wants to see his mother. He asks for help from a drunk man who thinks he is hallucinating, and then another passerby sees Tobi talking with the drunk man and becomes fascinated with the winged boy. He starts to take pictures of Tobi that are then given to the media for the public view.
Tobi is now back home with his parents watching the news and the media frenzy about him, where they hear one of the doctors say that due to Tobi’s nature, the clinic should have the child’s custody for further study. The doctors consider Tobi to not be Homo Sapien, but a new category called Homo Angelicus. Tobi’s parents then find out that they have a crowd waiting to see the boy outside their house. Professor Jourdain then goes to their home to unsuccessfully talk to Tobi’s parents to get Tobi back to the clinic. To get the crowd away Tobi’s mom picks up Tobi and shows him with his wings. Jacinto then befriends Marla Sullivan who works in the media, where she makes Jacinto an offer. He tells her that his son is “not for rent”. Marla then offers Jacinto a contract to use Tobi in a commercial but he rejects the offers given. She then offers him a better job, which later on Jacinto accepts. In the next scene, Tobi appears in a stupid suit and uninterested in filming a women’s deodorant commercial, ruining every scene and causing the anger of the director. Tobi has been filming the commercial from 9 am to 7 pm and is now exhausted, so Tobi’s mom takes the boy without completing the commercial. Marla makes a comment to a staff member that the Lopez' had signed a contract and that later on she would catch up with them. Maria is preparing Tobi to go to school and makes him a pair of covers to hide his wings. Tobi needs to use the bathroom but because his mom is using it, he decides to pee outside the window, where the urine lands on a policeman. The policeman then knocks on the door to inform Mrs. López of the incident but when he found out it's Tobi, the boy with wings, he will forgive him.
Tobi is then taken to school where another classmate started to pull his wings, so the teacher decided to sit Tobi apart from the others in order to protect him. The bell rings and Tobi stayed inside the classroom in order to not be bullied by the other boys. He then made a friend with a little girl, to which he showed her his wings that were hidden in covers prepared by his mother. Unknown to the pair, they are being watched by another classmate who then tells his friends about it and the group goes back to Tobi to demand him to show them his wings. Tobi’s mom is taken to the principal’s office where they tell her that the boy’s presence in the school is causing problems and distraction to the other students. Back at home Tobi is struggling with his new-found situation and starts getting nightmares. Tobi is then taken to the hospital and has his wings removed as a way to give him back his normal life. As he exits from the hospital, again he has the media waiting for him taking pictures of his back. Marla Sullivan called Jacinto and reminded him that he signed a contract, and now that that Tobi had his wings removed he will face a lawsuit. Tobi’s mom takes him to the park where he started to feel an itch on his back again. Marla then finds out through the news that Tobi’s wings grew back, and because of the contract, Tobi is now at carnival and being displayed as “Tobi the boy with wings” where people pay and get in a long line waiting to see him. The parents arrived and plan to get him out of there, but Tobi managed to escape on his own and ran towards the top of a tower having the crowd and his parents run after him. Once he reached the top, the boy flies away into the sky leaving the crowd and his parents behind him.
Cast
- Lolo Garcia as Tobi López
- Norma Aleandro as Profesora
- Antonio Ferrandis as Doctor Juldain
- Walter Vidarte as Enfermero
- Francisco Vidal as Jacinto
- Silvia Tortosa as Marga
- José Lifante as Compañero de Marga
- Andrés Mejuto as Professor Burman
- María Casanova as María
- Manuela Camacho as Luci
- Lorenzo Ramírez as Borracho
- Jose Yepes as Fotógrafo
- Pepe Ruiz as Hombre en el almacén
- Fabián Conde as dolfo
Reception
The film has a 5.8 average user rating (out of 10) on IMDB.[1] It has no score yet on Rotten Tomatoes.[2]